An effective drug delivery protocol for therapeutic purposes must necessarily be based on extensive evaluations of many diverse considerations. Of interest here, is the recognition that of the many different ways in which a drug can be delivered to a person, perfusion can be an effective methodology in many instances. Of particular interest, however, is the recognition that perfusion protocols can be efficacious for delivering medicaments to internal tissue.
For a perfusion protocol, the medicament will typically be a liquid, or a liquid-like substance, that will interact with a particular type of tissue, through a surface of the tissue. This requires the therapeutic component (i.e. drug) that is being used to have characteristics which will account for such operational variables as: 1) the required perfusion rate; 2) the necessary drug release rate; and 3) the preferred concentration gradient. All of this, of course, requires the use of a system or device which has the ability to deliver medicament to a specified site or location inside the body.
From an operational perspective, in order to implement an efficacious perfusion protocol it is obviously important to have a delivery system that will effectively interact with the anatomy of the patient. In overview, the general characteristics of such a delivery system will include capabilities that include: 1) accessing the perfusion site; 2) avoiding the disruption or impairment of physiological functions in the body during the conduct of a perfusion protocol; and 3) supporting an efficacious protocol for potentially prolonged periods of time.
As an example where a perfusion protocol for internal tissue may be effective, consider the condition of atrial fibrillation. It is known that atrial fibrillation, which is an involuntary contraction of an atrial in the heart muscle, can be treated in any of several different ways (e.g. using ablation techniques). It is also known, however, that atrial fibrillation can be treated pharmacologically. This latter case then leads to the consideration of a delivery system. For instance, consider U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/275,583 filed on May 12, 2014, for an invention entitled “Catheter System for Venous Infusions” which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, and which is incorporated herein by reference.
With the above in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a delivery system and method having the ability to establish an effective and efficacious internal perfusion site in the body of a patient. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for transferring a medicament to a selected location in the body of a patient for perfusion of the medicament into a tissue of the patient. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for affecting the perfusion of a medicament into internal tissue of a patient that is easy to implement, is simple to operate and is comparatively cost effective.